Paging Kalah and PrettyinPink

[meggie]

and anyone else with a clean house! :D

 

What chores do you have your children do? I'm about ready to go crazy with the housekeeping. I feel like their little maid, picking up after every little thing they do. :cursing: I know it's my fault for letting them get away with it, but no more! I am going through the entire house on a major purge so everything has a place. Once that's done, what can I get them to do so we can maintain the clean environment?

 

I'm thinking Pigby (6) could clear and rinse the dishes and wipe the table after every meal. Digby (almost 3) could clean up the living room with my supervision and help. He could also probably use a dust pan and broom to get most of the big stuff on the kitchen floor. Would it be reasonable to start training Pigby how to wipe down the bathroom? (Ok I understand how stupid this makes me look, so please don't laugh. Cleaning is really not my strong point) Also, what can I use to clean the bathroom with instead of paper towels? Growing up, we only ever used paper towels. Would washcloths be ok or would that just be too gross to consider? :blushing:

 

I'm thinking of having chore time three times a day for about 5-10 minutes each, plus a clean up of their room before they go to bed. Thoughts? Suggestions? Please help a recovering slob. I'm worried about homeschooling and cleaning and cooking and working and hobbies fitting into my life when they are older. If I don't get this under control now, I don't know if I can do it all.

 

ETA: oh and if there are any other age appropriate chores for a 6 yo and 3 yo, please let me know. I need them doing as much as they can when they can. I don't want to raise slobs like myself.

[nd293]

I think our house house qualifies...

 

I don't have set chores for the children, although there are jobs they regularly do. I have set times through the day where we 'blitz' the house, and I assign jobs as I go. I might go room by room, or simply assign tasks I know need doing. These are things like putting things away, packing the dishwasher (or at least locating random dirty dishes and putting them in the kitchen), taking out the recycling and rubbish to the outside bin, sorting and putting away the small items in the laundry (cloths, underwear, etc), putting cushions back on couches, putting books back on shelves. Once the house is tidy it's very easy to clean.

 

For cleaning the bathroom - I have a ton of cloths (facecloths, really) specifically for wiping the bathroom and other spills around the house. The kids know where to find them (under the kitchen sink). Dirty cloths get dumped straight into the washing machine to wait for the next wash (as I don't want to leave wet cloths in the wash basket).

 

The single biggests thing I've done in getting the house to where I want it is having the toys organized into bins of 'like' toys, and making sure the kids (really just ds5) pack away in the correct bin as they finish playing with them.

 

I've recently noticed that we can recover from the compete chaos of a playdate with multiple young visitors in about 15 minutes. I feel like I have finally Arrived. :001_smile:

Edited April 12, 2012 by nd293

[TXMomof4]

Alright, your kids are very little.

 

That being said - the 6 yo could certainly put their dishes in the sink and wipe off the table. It may not be done well, but the training is important. I'm not sure a 3 yo could manage a broom/dustpan, but certainly could pick up the big things off the floor.

 

At that age the very most important thing we did was "5 minute pick-ups". We stopped everything and cleaned the room we were in for 5 minutes before we moved to anything else. Seriously. No making a mess and leaving it because a toy in the next room attracts attention. The kids *know* that their father might have a heart attack if they leave a big mess somewhere and the explosion that results will be much worse than just investing the time in picking up after themselves. They certainly aren't perfect, but my house is completely presentable all the time. Which is saying a whole lot - I'm a slob naturally. This has taken as much training for me as for the kids.

[kroe1]

I don't know if this will be helpful to you or not, but I've never assigned chores to my kiddos per se. I've only had a small family, so this method worked for us.

 

I do have a one toy rule. One toy at a time can be out, unless the toys need each other to have fun. The kiddo must put his own toy away into a basket until he is big enough to take it back to his room. I always kept a basket of toys hidden in every room so that toys don't get scattered.

 

After each subject, we go "do a room". That means make up the bed, pick it up or whatever. The kiddo comes with me and acts as slave labor or my assistant, however one wants to look at it.

 

By not assigning regular chores, then I have the flexibility to take the kiddo with me and us clean a room together. Also, I don't have the arguments about not getting chores done on time.

 

I'm not sure if this is the right way to do things, but my DIL is happy with my son's household participation. :)

 

And I've always thought a kiddo does not need to clean 1000 toilets before he leaves home to know how it is done. :)

 

But, honestly, a gazillion methods work well. When one has kiddos as young as yours sometimes it helps just by lowering one's household cleanliness standards. :001_huh:

[meggie]

When one has kiddos as young as yours sometimes it helps just by lowering one's household cleanliness standards. :001_huh:

 

My standards couldn't get any lower. That's why we're trying to raise them :D.

 

Thanks guys. The three year old can handle the dustpan. Last year he had a lovely habit of tossing the food he didn't like off the table so in an effort to get him to stop, I'd make him use the dustpan to clean it up. I'm not expecting him to be able to sweep the whole floor and make it beautiful, but more of getting all the big stuff that falls off of his and Chuck's plates.

 

I can also have Pigby take care of the bathroom trash. With a little grocery bag liner, he ought to be able to pull it out and tie it up and put a new bag in. I like this idea.